Curious Ramblings from the Logs of a Lonely Fireteam
by Ikedawg43
Summary: While stuck out in the middle of the snow to guard an unimportant relic, three Guardians find it difficult to keep their rambling thoughts out of their official reports. Some of these include pranks, jokes, stories, and tall tales from the frontier. Others... well, let's just say that when you have a lot of time, you start to create theories to explain the world you live in.
1. Guns of Light

AN: This is a new series of one-offs about just different little things I think about in the Destiny Universe. You know, Origin of the Fallen, why our guns are rated with Light, stuff like that. I'm planning on the Fallen rant next, and after that I will just upload something if I think of it, unless you guys like this series. If you do like it enough for me to keep going regularly, let me know by commenting and messaging me your ideas for rants. You can say "what about this" or tell me something you have been wondering about. Seriously, the Title of this story is really accurate.

Enjoy.

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Curious Ramblings from the Logs of a Lonely Fireteam

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GUARDIAN: WARLOCK 2798 – TAYLOR FARYANG – LEADER FIRETEAM 814

DAILY ENTRY: 143

Hey guys, Taylor here for…shit, I don't even know…the _thousandth_ time? Gah, I feel bad for the poor Ghost whose job it is to process all these logs. I mean, I'm sure he has seen my recommendation to allow verbally recorded logs more than once. Seriously, we have got to have precise dictation software by now. But, I digress.

Actually, I don't digress; it would sound a whole lot cooler (and give poor Squad Eight-One-Four something to do) to give awesome speeches into a recorder for whoever might hear them than to type away reports from the frozen wilderness that no one wants to read.

Anyways, at least we've come up with something useful to do with our spare time: argue. Or rather, debate. Yeah, yeah, I know that studying these artifacts is important and that they should be guarded like the city itself, but if that was really true then we would have enough guardians to make a city around this thing. But arguing: yea, that's one term. Really, we've just been discussing different theories we have or trying to make sense of things we just wonder about. There are a lot of the last one there. Occasionally they inspire some of our theories.

Stuff like this is what I _really_ want to be doing as a Guardian—a Warlock no less—researching both our enemy and how our world works. The Traveler's light has changed so much that our ancient knowledge might as well have been thrown out the window by now; humanity has basically had to relearn everything (I'm disregarding the fact that neither of my Fireteam members are actually human).

Recently, we've taken to discussing weapons, and why they work. Not "why does the bullet come out" but rather "why does this gun's bullet hurt them more than this gun's?" I'll admit, it isn't something we normally think about. We find a gun with a higher rating, and we use it. No questions are asked. No questions are needed. It is something simple and easy that all new Guardians pick up because, frankly, everything else is complicated enough. We don't have the time nor the spare energy to wonder why different guns hurt more.

But when you are guarding a pointless rock in the middle of the snow, you start asking these questions. Because you literally have nothing better to do than sit around an actual campfire with your Fireteam and say "You know, why does my gun do more damage than yours?"

But in all seriousness, why do different guns do more damage? They all shoot bullets, with exception to Fusion Rifles, Rocket Launchers, and a few Exotic weapons. Why does, say, a SUROS Regime do more damage than, say, any other SUROS Auto Rifle? For that matter, why does the Light Rating mean more damage? They all shoot bullets, right?

Or…is it something more? Sure, they shoot the same bullets, and sure, some do more damage than others. Is that why they rate guns with Light? Do our weapons somehow infuse Light into each bullet, thereby meaning higher Light guns do more Light damage? That seems impractical, like we would risk running out of Light at some point, and our enemies wouldn't have Light Ammo falling from their bodies. Surely the SUROS or Omolon factories don't just syphon light from the Traveler and case it inside a 9mm.

So what is the purpose of the Light ratings? That is where my Fireteam has really been stumped for the past few hours. None of us can agree yet: the Hunter thinks that Light correlates to penetration, and the Titan thinks that we are overthinking things.

I do have a theory. One that, the more I think on it, really starts to explain things.

The Light ratings don't mean that the gun fires Light bullets, per say. It shows us how well it amplifies the wielder's Light. Think about it; as Guardians, we are trained to wield our Light against the Darkness. This is where our grenades, charged melees, and Super Abilities stem from. Light is the basis of a Guardian's abilities. So why wouldn't we have created weapons to harness this?

Why is a 310 Exotic SUROS Regime better than a run of the mill SUROS assault rifle? Perhaps it's because, aside from the alternating patterns of fire on the SUROS Regime, one is better at wielding Light against the Darkness. Some weapons can make this obvious, such as the Exotic Hard Light that literally fires light beams. Others, like the SUROS, just pose as normal guns that do an extremely good job of fitting their Guardian.

Perhaps that's how our weapons work. Light-Channeling could be what separates the Midha Multitool from a Swiss Army Knife. As a Sunsinger Warlock, I am in love with my baby, the Tlaloc, a gun that gets better when the wielder's Super is charged. Was this ability a subtle hint that a gun is just another tool to wield Light? Hell, Hunters' have a Super where they summon a flaming handcannon they call the Golden Gun that decimates enemies by firing what appears to be _pure_ Solar Light.

The Hawkmoon, Thorn, and Last Word are all extremely unique Exotic Handcannons wielded by famous (and infamous) Guardians. Surely those weapons bent Light to their will; that's the only way it makes sense that Handcannons once ruled the Crucible. The Zhalo Supercell literally fires Arc Bullets, and Arc energy is the basis of one of every Guardians' subclasses. Hell, even the banned Red Death is said to give life back to its wielder with every kill. Go find a gun that heals you and tell me that Light isn't involved.

This could even somewhat explain why fallen foes give us ammo. We aren't replenishing just bullets. We have extinguished Darkness. Our Light _should_ grow from this. It seems fitting that examining the handiwork of the Light we wield would embolden us and cause our Light to grow. It's like watering a flower with the blood of our enemies (I'm told that Titans actually do this, but then again my Titan buddy here isn't always honest).

But if this crackpot theory of ours is true, why isn't it common knowledge. Obviously, SUROS, Omolon, or someone would have figured this out and modified their process to maximize Light Wielding capabilities. Unless…it isn't something you can control. Unless Light ratings aren't determined by the design, or manufacturer, but by the aura of the gun itself. Perhaps the SUROS Regime IS the main line of SUROS Auto Rifle, and we only ever hear of the handful of Regimes that became Exotic. Perhaps finding a Gjallahorn isn't hard, just finding an Exotic Gjallahorn that wields Light like no other is.

But if this is all true—if weapons simply wield the light of the user—then what of weapons built by non-Guardians? The Telesto is another popular Exotic among Warlocks, and I am proud to say that I have one tucked away at the Tower. The Telesto was built by the Awoken for their own use, yet Guardians have no issue wielding it. Surely, the Awoken, who waver between Dark and Light, would not build a weapon that only harnesses Light. Is it possible that an Awoken using this weapon would yield different results? No one has ever engaged an Awoken in 1v1 combat—at least not for a long time—and the Telesto is rare enough as it is that there is no record of this being tried.

More importantly, what about the weapons _taken_ from Oryx? (Get it? _Taken_? God I'm so sick of this snow). I've gotten my hands on a few sweet weapons from the Dreadnaught, and they kill like few weapons I've ever used. But if I am firing my Light, why does it work so well from a weapon of the Darkness? Are these weapons _designed_ for the Hive's enemies to use, or would they be infinitely more powerful if someone wielding the Darkness fired them?

Damn…where is Eris Morn when you need her?

Actually, some of Oryx's loot has me thinking of another theory that I may write up in a report sometime soon. Well, actually, Titan Isaac-43 knows more about that particular theory, so I'll let him have it. Let's just say that the inscription on the Doom of Chelchis Scout Rifle is…intriguing.

Lastly, in what most confused me yet somehow makes the most sense in _light_ of my theory (I'm so lonely, please send help. The puns no longer stave off insanity), I considered the implications of the Touch of Malice. A weapon so dangerous and hyped across the system that even typing it gives me goose bumps…or maybe that's frostbite finally setting in. That fearsome weapon (the ToM, not frostbite) acts like I theorize any other weapon to: it wields light against enemies.

Until it doesn't. As we all know, that last shot is…different. Strange. The gun was crafted by Eris, who is no stranger to Darkness nor the Hive, and the gun is her way of paying back to the Hive all her suffering. And it hurts you to fire it. Yes, firing this weapons physically hurts you.

The last round does significantly extra damage—to the point where it is the preferred weapon against Oryx himself—but hurts you. Could it be, that this weapon forged by Eris, wields pure Darkness for its last round? It would make sense that Eris would make it and, being acquainted with the Darkness as she is, wouldn't notice a small sting of Darkness as it fired without running out of ammo. But normal Guardians, still basking in the full glory of the Traveler's Light, are hurt by this Darkness we are now channeling.

It would make sense. The Darkness has always been mysterious and powerful. Firing it in a way specifically designed to hurt the Hive but also in a way that it hurts the Guardian wielding it…that's unheard of. Rare. Strange. Exotic. A gun that fires Light until the Light runs out, then turns to an unlimited supply of Darkness ammo at the expense of its wielder?

Well, that gun sounds like it should be banned. Or standard issue, if you ask Cayde-6.

But hey, that's _just_ a theory…a theory from three very cold Guardians bored out of our minds.

Oh, and the relic we are guarding still has not changed or responded to our experiments in any way. Probably should include that in the official report.

Till my next rant,

Taylor Faryang – Sunsinger Smothered in Snow


	2. The Brother

GUARDIAN: TITAN 3111 – ISAAC-43 – BRAWLER FIRETEAM 814

DAILY ENTRY: 147

Why did we ever encourage a Warlock to start asking questions? Ever since that whole debate on how our freaking guns work, he won't shut up. Questions about this, questions about that; Taylor, sometimes you should just take it for granted that our enemies drop the loot they do. It isn't hard.

But the worst thing about it is that he got _me_ thinking. Now, I'm a pretty laid back guy; hell, I'm a Titan. When a fight breaks out, I jump in before anyone else. When a debate breaks out, I usually try to duck out. But I can't do that when there are only three of us. I _try_ to divert Taylor's inquisitive nature (because, honestly, he won't ever shut up if he gets started) with jokes and ridiculous half-truths, but I have to say that he has won.

I am here to write down a theory that I have been…thinking…about.

Gah, it pains me just to write that. Thinking…ugh.

Once you start thinking, it is very difficult to stop. That's why battle is easy for a Titan: you don't need to think to be a wall. A wall doesn't debate about guns, or conspiracies, or enemies. A wall just stands there, no matter what comes at it.

Well, today, this damn wall is talking. About what?

Of course, just my favorite people under the Light… _Fallen_.

Let me just go on record to say that, no matter what I may say after this, I _despise_ the Fallen. With passion. As I go down the rabbit hole, I may not sound like I hate them. But I do.

So what about the Fallen has me so worked up? Well, I want to know where they came from. We all know that they came to our system during the Collapse, and that they pillage and salvage as much of our Golden Age technology as they can. They are enemies of our Traveler that we all just kinda assumed followed the Light in an attempt to destroy it. Other than that, our knowledge of the Fallen is surprisingly low.

Sure, we know of their basic structure, but for the sake of my argument let's lay it out on the table, just so you see where I come from. The Fallen work in somewhat of a pyramid system, with the smaller group troops we step over at the bottom and a strange connected relationship between the Prime Servitors, Archon Priests, and Kell. We think that, in most cases, a Prime Servitor has the most control. Archon Priests are said in our grimoire database to take the wishes of the Kell and relay them to the Prime Servitors, so it seems that Kell are the leaders underneath the Servitors, with the Archons being a wildcard.

Prime Servitors are what have posed the greatest threat to our efforts. They process all of the information and make highly intelligent military decisions that are then instantly transmitted to the floating purple punching bags that are the normal Servitors. Those Servitors then relay real-time battle info to the Prime and relay they Prime's commands to the Fallen warriors.

Oh, and the Prime Servitors are practically worshipped by the Fallen as Machine Gods, even if they are awful military tacticians (such as the Prime that the desperate House of Wolves turned to). It seems that the structure goes: Prime Servitor-Archon Priest-Kell, or Machine God-Obscured Religious Character-Head of Military.

Sounds a little familiar, does it not? I mean, it's not like we know of any other mysterious Machine God with a religious representative whose connection we don't fully understand, and it isn't as if these two control the leader of a military force.

Okay, I know that's redundant, but in case you are lost, I'll spell it out.

Prime Servitor-Archon Priest-Kell

Traveler-Speaker-Vanguard

See it now? What a coincidence, huh?

 _BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE_!

The similarities don't stop there. What about the regular Servitors that go out with the troops, are based off of the larger Servitor, and relay information both ways? Surely there isn't a parallel to be made here…

Oh. Wait. That's right. We have _Ghosts_ that do the same thing. Granted every Guardian has a Ghost, but not every human in the city is a Guardian. It balances out.

Now, I would go on record to say that Ghosts are more advanced than Servitors, but all this was just too strange for me to forget about. So what's the significance here?

Well, we need some perspective on the Fallen, and who better than our old pal Variks. Yes, if you head to the Reef and speak with the House of Judgement Fallen there, you will learn a lot. You will have no clue what to do with that information, but you will learn a lot. What I find most interesting, other than the Fallen-to-English translation goofs, is what he mentions of the Traveler. His word is not "Traveler" but rather "Great Machine."

Listen to him sometime. There are recorded instances of him saying it more than once. The first and most important quote you'll hear in passing is "Tell me more of your Crucible. How you fight in the name of the Great Machine." By specifying the Crucible, Variks makes it known that by "Great Machine" he is referring to the Traveler.

Well, that wasn't difficult, crazy, or mild-boggling, right? Well, here it comes.

The other, less subtle things that Variks says?

"One day soon I'll tell you the story of how our world ended. I'll tell you the story of the Great Machine."

"Do you think the Great Machine has noticed what we did? Will it speak to me again? Tell me where the great Eleksni [Fallen] have gone?"

Whoa whoa whoa. What the fuck just happened there?

Pardon my Fallen, but that isn't what you would expect. It seems like Variks is implying that he used to have contact with the Traveler. That all the Fallen did.

Let's break this down. This tells us first of all that the Fallens' world ended. It's gone, leaving them to roam and pillage like they do. Then Variks connects this with the Traveler, the 'Great Machine.' This means that, in some way, the Traveler was connected. The Fallen are now enemies of the Traveler, so it is possible that the Traveler helped end their world. Score one for the Great Machine, I guess.

What about the next quote? Well, context is nice for that one. If you recall, Variks ends up in the Queen's service because he betrayed the House of Wolves' Kell to the Awoken. It appears that Variks thinks that betraying the Fallen Houses is something that would please the Traveler, thus strengthening the 'Traveler Destroyed Their World' theory. But then he wonders, almost like the guilty party after a rough breakup, if the Traveler will ever speak to him specifically. What does this mean? Has Variks spoken with the Traveler before? Why does he think the Traveler will tell him of the great Eleksni that are apparently missing?

There is so much going on here that we can look into. If I were a Warlock, I would fixate on just Variks words. But I'm not, so I won't. I think it is important not to just take his word at face value. Fortunately, there is one other instance where the Fallen have used the term 'Great Machine' in English. Chelchis, presumably just before his death.

Yes, _that_ Chelchis. As in 'The Doom of Chelchis,' a scout rifle from the dreadnaught. This weapon's catchphrase (for lack of a better term) reads:

" _Where is the Great Machine? Where is the Great Machine?" –Chelchis, Kell of Stone_

Okay, now I have laid everything out on the table. All the information I have. So here is my (Squad Eight-One-Four's) theory:

The Traveler has a brother. A rival Traveler. The Traveler and the Brother were technically allies, but they always fought. Gods don't share well and they always compete with each other, and these two were no exception. The Brother was a God to the Fallen, while our Traveler did not take in a people. I see them taking jabs at each other back and forth, much like actual brothers; I picture this as a Simba and Scar relationship from the Ancient Cult of the Disney pre-Golden Age records.

"Look! I made Servitors to guide my people when they are away from me!"

"Yea sure, but your idiot Houses are fighting again. Way to go there, bro."

Things were always tense, until the day the Hive came knocking. The Light of two Travelers attracted Oryx from across the universe like a signal beacon.

The Brother, having taken in the Fallen, believed that he could stand with the Traveler and fight the Darkness. However, the Traveler was not convinced and began to plot escape should it be needed.

"Long live the king!"

Battles raged on the Fallens' world. Heroes were made, legends born, all from the endless siege by the Darkness. In the Brother's time of need, our Traveler made its move. It crippled the Brother, then left it to be slaughtered by Oryx. That is why Oryx's treasure included the Doom of Chelchis; Oryx brought Doom to Chelchis. In what felt like an instant, Oryx's Darkness devoured the Brother, leaving the Fallen with what precious gifts remained. With their world doomed, the Fallen vowed to take vengeance on our Traveler for betraying us to the Darkness.

As Oryx destroyed the Fallens' world, every Ketch suited for travel left in pursuit of the Traveler.

As an insult to injury, when the Traveler reached us, he decided to outdo his Brother. Our Golden Age far surpassed anything the Brother ever did. Humanity reached greater heights than the Fallen ever did.

Even in our Traveler's death, he outdid the Brother. He created Ghosts and Guardians, which have proven far superior to anything the Fallen have. The Traveler's warriors even destroyed Oryx himself in the ultimate show of superiority of the Brother.

That is why Variks is so fascinated with our Traveler. They both betrayed the Fallen, for the better good. He wants to reconnect with a Great Machine, find out what became of the legendary Fallen from the battle with Oryx.

But why should we hate the Fallen then? Well, if this does somehow turn out true, then our Traveler would have sacrificed his Brother for more time to prepare a counter to Oryx. We know now that the Traveler's efforts worked and Oryx is defeated, so we can justify this. The slaying of the Brother was so that at least one of them survived.

The Fallen didn't do the same. They only wanted revenge. They attacked us and crippled us, nearly destroyed us. That would have undone our ability to fight Oryx and effectively doomed the universe. They aren't making an ultimately justified decision. They are succumbing to bloodthirst.

That's why we should hate the Fallen. Because, like our Traveler was, we are the better ones.

All that happened, or our Traveler was their God then said "Yea, these guys suck. Imma start over with Humans" and then the Fallen got jealous.

Choose to believe what you want to, and stay safe Guardians.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm freezing my parts off out here?

Signing out,

Isaac-43, Defender of Nothing But Snow Right Now


	3. A Hunter's Confession

_GUARDIAN: HUNTER 193 – OBEDIAH ARX – SCOUT FIRETEAM 814_

 _DAILY ENTRY: 153_

 _Well, you've won. You broke me. A fearsome vagabond no more, a wild Hunter tamed._

 _Way to go._

 _I suspect that this was part of your plan all along. In addition to punishing me by sending me to stay in one spot (in the snow no less), you sent me with these…people. The Guardians of Squad Eight-One-Four._

 _When I first got here, I wanted nothing to do with them. I was a Hunter. One of the few who mastered the Nightstalker and Gunslinger abilities. I roamed wherever I wanted to and killed whatever I found. Just like a Hunter should._

 _And then you stuck me in a Fireteam. Sure, it was partially a punishment. But it was also a lesson that you knew I wouldn't want._

 _Early on, Eight-One-Four encountered a Hunter who happened to roam the area. I still suspect that he was sent to check up on us and make sure I hadn't ditched._

"A Hawkmoon? Damn son." Isaac-43 remarked. I couldn't help but crack a smile. I may be stuck in the snow with these losers, but at least they recognize that I am the cool one of the group.

"For all the trouble this baby has caused me, I'd say it's been worth it." I replied.

"Trouble? Like what?" Taylor asked. Just like a Warlock; more interested in stories than an Exotic handcannon that was RIGHT in front of him.

Oh well, it at least gets me a chance to tell a story.

"Well, for starters, it's why I got assigned to sit here in the snow with you guys."

"It's a Hawkmoon, not a Red Death. It isn't like you'll get in trouble for having one." Isaac-43 said, both refuting me and setting me up for a story at the same time.

"Well, normally that would be true, but this Hawkmoon is special. It used to belong to an important Hunter, one who retired his cloak and works in the Tower now. One day he goes and takes all his finest gear and hides it away, for a rainy day. Son of a bitch thought he was clever, but I found one of his weapons caches hidden at the top of a tower in the Cosmodrome."

Taylor listened to my story intently, while Isaac chuffed and chuckled from across the campfire.

"Tell me you aren't talking about who I think you are…"

"Yea, that's how I ended up here. Of course he would go rogue for a little while, and when he did he figured out he had been robbed. He was pretty butthurt about it. Interviewed literally every Hunter around, pulled people from assignments, and send a team to retrieve me. He still couldn't prove anything, and thus I still have the exotics."

"More than one?" Taylor asked, finally breaking his silence.

"Oh you had better believe it. Hawkmoon, Gjallahorn, Thorn, Hard Light, SUROS. That mofo even had a Bad Juju and a RED DEATH hidden in there!"

"…which means you have a Red Death?" Isaac-43 asked hesitantly but also eagerly, like he was trying to hide how interested he really was. You can't hide anything from a Hunter.

"Tell you what, I spotted a Fallen camp down the river. I'll let you two try some of them out. I don't get a chance to use enough of them anyways."

They both sat up almost instantly, eyes intensely fixed on me. I asked my ghost to pull a few items from inventory for them then summoned my sparrow. The others caught on and pulled their sparrows, and then we were off. I made sure to circle around the Fallen so we could hide and ambush them when we were ready.

"Let's see, gun for a Warlock… Here, try The Last Word. There's nothing like a good handcannon to fix a bad case of being a nerd." Tay took the gun without even acknowledging my insult, too infatuated with the weapon to care.

"Now, for my man the Titan… Don't tell anyone about this. I call this one the 'RD'." I said while handing him a Red Death. His eyes went wide, but once he grabbed the gun he tightened up and nodded to let me know that he knew this wasn't to play with.

'Huh, imagine that. A Warlock with a Handcannon and a Titan breaking the rules.' I thought to myself. 'Well, I might as well continue the trend. How about a Shotgun for a Hunter…'

I put away my Hawkmoon and grabbed a Universal Remote, then nodded to the other two to let them know that we were ready to attack.

All things considered, the attack was way too easy. The Fallen were unprepared for our attack, and we made short work of them. Taylor and Isaac-43 enjoyed themselves way too much, and even I had some fun. It'd been awhile since I kicked ass with a shotty.

Once the fight was over, something felt off. I scanned the tree lines, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, yet I still couldn't shake the feeling something was off. I must have been focusing too hard, because apparently I missed something the Warlock said.

"Hey, Obe, you in there? You want these back?" Taylor said while walking towards me. I made eye contact with him, breaking my trance, but his eyes shifted up and behind me soon afterwards.

I knew what was happening, and I was not about to let it happen. I activated my Super and drew my Nightstalker bow, then turned around and let an arrow fly right into the chest of the Bladedancer that was coming down on top of me. My shot struck true, but the anchor didn't take effect until the Bladedancer had his knife against my throat.

"What the hELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" the Titan yelled, having turned around to see two Hunter engaged in combat.

The other Hunter and I locked eyes for a moment, before we both broke into laughter. I undid my anchor and he released the blade from my neck.

"Good eyes there, Nightstalker." He commented.

"Yea, nice approach man. Never saw you in the trees."

"I wasn't in the trees, I was in the weeds in front of them." He said as I nodded along.

"You just in the area, then?" I asked.

"Yea bro. Passing through the snow. You know, roaming the south you just never get an appreciation for the snow."

"Yea, well, being assigned in the north, you learn to hate the damn stuff on Day One." I replied with a chuckle.

"I guess I can see how this could get old…wait a second…" he trailed off as he spotted my Fireteam. "…A Nightstalker in a Fireteam? A Warlock with a Last Word? A Titan with, uh, _that_ thing? What in Crota's testicles is going on here?"

"What's going on with us? You're the one who just attacked us!" Taylor exclaimed while also discretely holstering the Last Word he had been holding.

"No no no, Tay, that was normal for Hunters. It's like a handshake; anytime roaming Hunters meet, we try to one-up the other with a sneak attack. If you lose to another Hunter, that's like giving a limp handshake." I explained, suppressing a laugh.

"Ah, so whoever loses is considered inferior." Isaac-43 summed up. Makes sense he would figure it out; Titans do basically the same thing with handshakes.

"That's…interesting. What would have happened if you had your Golden Gun right there?"

"I would have turned around and fired a shot an inch from his ear." I replied casually.

"More like you would have caught a blade with your teeth…" the Bladedancer mumbled.

"That's pretty cool that you have your own culture adapted to surviving the wild. Titans fistbump, Warlocks, you know, speak to one another like normal people, and Hunters pretend to assassinate each other." Taylor exclaimed to no one in particular.

"In a nutshell, _yes,_ that is everything we just said." I mocked.

 _That encounter was a draw, but opened dialogue between the Warlock and me that I still can't get him to stop talking about._

 _And that stupid Warlock got me thinking. About the roles that Guardians play. Titans are addicted to fighting, desire to be the frontline of any encounter, and trust those that they protect. That's what they are for. Warlocks get along well with Titans because they want to study everything, and this often means going into dangerous places. If Warlocks weren't so good with their grenades in combat then I would be tempted to call them the Traveler's nerds. Or, at least I would be tempted to say it to their face._

 _And then there are the Hunters. We aren't designed to stick with others. We were meant to roam the wilds and fight what Darkness we can find. Very few Hunters permanently join Fireteams._

 _But I am going to be one of those Hunters. The Warlock got me thinking about the different roles that Guardians play. Why are we Hunters meant to be different? Warlocks serve the Tower on the battlefield and in the library, and Titans are always there to assist the Warlocks. But Hunters?_

 _We aren't anywhere to be found._

 _I didn't realize just how much these two have influenced me—and how much I influenced them—until a second Hunter dropped by recently._

We were sitting around our campfire, discussing different little things like what ancient pie recipe tasted best and who the hottest female in the Tower was. Normal things for friends to discuss on yet another chilly night out in the middle of Nowhere, Russia.

We were having a good time, laughing quite a bit when I noticed some leaves rustle on a tree nearby. It wasn't the rustling of the wind, or the rustling of a Fallen. It was the subtle rustling of a Hunter crawling through. A Nightstalker, stealthiest of them all.

While I was busy noticing the leaves rustle, I missed that my friends noticed my noticing. They played it off so quickly that I had no clue they noticed that I saw something and we resumed chatting. I was a little more reserved than usual, mentally preparing myself to react to whatever the Hunter was going to through at me.

What I didn't expect was for Taylor to distract me.

"Hey Obediah, I think I jammed my Last Word earlier. Can you take a look at it?" He asked while tossing me the gun. It caught me off-guard and left me vulnerable as I fumbled with the gun that was thrown in my lap. Surely enough, the Nightstalker used that as his in and fired an anchor into my chest, slowing me to the point there was no way I would counter his follow-up attack.

He jumped out of the tree while the arrow was still in the air, and was poised to strike nearly immediately after the anchor would take effect. There was no way I was getting out of this.

When I expected the strike to land, it wasn't there. Instead, I heard a bell ring, and looked up to see the Nightstalker knocked out of the air by a flaming hammer; he was knocked right into Taylor's arms, who held him in a deadlock and then used his Stormcaller to help restrain the Hunter.

Taylor held him there for a few seconds before releasing him and letting him drop to his knees to catch his breath.

"What the hell!?" I exclaimed as soon as the anchor released.

"What in the Traveler's fucking Light just happened!?" The Nightstalker exclaimed, both angry and shocked that he had been bested by a Titan and Warlock.

"That's our gift to you, Obe. We've been working on it ever since you saved Isaac's ass back when the Fallen ambushed us."

"Wha-wha?" I stuttered, just as confused and outright shocked as the Nightstalker.

"You stood there and protect Isaac from the Fallen when he was hit, just like a Titan would. We felt this would be a good way to make it up to you."

As my mind began to work again, all I could do was laugh. I laughed hard. The situation was just so outrageous that I couldn't help myself. The look on the Nightstalker's face, the fact that he was owned so completely by my Fireteam…it was too much to handle. I cried I laughed so hard.

"Go on, get out of here. We won't tell anyone about this." Isaac-43 said to the Hunter, who gratefully took the chance to leave.

"Well, _he_ won't." Taylor mumbled under his breath. " _I_ am going to brag at every bar I ever go to about this."

 _If I was surprised that a Warlock and Titan got the drop on a seasoned Bladedancer, then imagine the Bladedancer's complete loss of words._

 _That incident got me thinking. Did just being around me make those two much more dangerous, to the point where they could outfox a Hunter? If so, what had they done to change me?_

 _I figured it out. Hunters aren't meant to roam alone. Our only purpose when we do that is to bring death, and the Traveler had more intricate plans for us. Sure, Hunters can go into the wild from time to time for scouting, but we were meant to be with a Fireteam. It makes us better and it makes those around us better._

 _No one Guardian could be given all the skills the Traveler needed us to have. That's why they were split among three types, with the intention that each type would teach the others. With the goal that all of us would become more than our Class._

"Whatcha writing there?" Taylor asked from behind me, startling me. I've been working out my latest report as a letter to someone with the hopes that it would make it far enough up the command chain for him to see it.

"Man, you Hunters, burying your head into a book or writing a report. You don't even notice people standing behind you for five minutes." Taylor mocked, while I shrugged it off.

"I've decided that there is no point fighting it anymore, so I'm officially requesting that we all stay together after this assignment. If it ever ends, that is."

"Fun. I wrote one of those requests like ten days after this whole thing started. Heck, Isaac wrote one a month ago."

I paused, frowning at the words I wrote before deleting them and rewording it.

"Yea. I guess it just took me longer to give in."

"Well. We're glad you did. We like all of these free exotics you give out so Cayde doesn't catch you with them." Taylor teased, then left me to my writing.

"Yea. Glad I did too." I mumbled absentmindedly as he walked away.

 _Whether or not you liked it, I think you figured that out a while ago. That's why you stay in the Tower when you long for the field, why you help the Vanguard despite your desires. And that's why, as punishment for stealing your cache, you stuck me in a Fireteam._

 _You knew that this would happen. So I'll make it official._

 _Cayde-6, I am officially requesting permanent assignment to Fireteam 814. And a pair of winter mittens, because it's cold as balls out here._

 _This is Obediah Arx, signing out for today._

 _P.S.: Suck my balls, I did steal your stash on that tower._


End file.
